Saturday, December 20, 2008

Howie Rich on the Blagojevich Scandal

I received an e-mail from Bill Wilson that carried the "Daily Grind", which is produced by GetLiberty.org "in affiliation with Americans for limited government". Rich's article is available on GetLiberty.org. Rich notes that:

"Coverage of the coronation of President-elect Barack Obama has practically ground to a halt, as have media reports on the steadily deteriorating state of our nation's economy. A multi-billion bailout for Detroit? Another Kennedy seeking elected office in New York? A pair of shoes thrown at President George W. Bush?

"It seems all of these stories are playing second fiddle to Chicagoland's scheming, foul-mouthed governor, his screaming 'Lady MacBeth' and the growing list of politicians caught up in their insidious web."

"The truth is that government entities dole out multi-million dollar contracts, make major regulatory decisions and pass new laws every day in America based on nothing more than who cut the biggest check to the politicians' campaign coffers. In fact, many of these deals come in the form of secretive "no-bid" contracts that often directly benefit politicians' friends and family members.Sadly, the vast majority of these "pay-to-play" scams are perfectly legal..."

But Rich points out that there is hope:

"In Colorado last month, voters took a stand against this pervasive culture of political corruption in America. Over the objection of virtually every elected official (and every public and private sector labor union in the state), citizens passed a comprehensive clean and open government measure that dramatically alters the status quo conditions responsible for politicians' egregious behavior.

"In addition to severely restricting political contribution's from no-bid government contractors including public sector unions, Colorado's new law also creates an online database where taxpayers will be able to follow how every cent of their money is being spent."

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Mitchell Langbert

About Me

I have researched and written about employee benefit issues and in my previous life was a corporate benefits administrator. I am currently associate professor of business at Brooklyn College. I hold a Ph.D. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, an MBA from UCLA and an AB from Sarah Lawrence College. I am working on a project involving public policy. I blog on academic and political topics.